BY CHRIS FORTUNE
Gretchen Herron said she probably shed tears when she found out her son would have a sports season this fall.
Herron, like many parents of Eudora athletes, was unsure whether Keaton would be able to play soccer as the season approached and the pandemic carried on through the summer.
“This is the pinnacle, this is it for them [the seniors] and they know it,” she said. “They wanted to at least have the opportunity.”
The School Board decided Aug. 20 to allow sports and activities to return as normal this fall, and parents have soaked up the chance to watch their students play during a season they weren’t sure would happen.
Shanda Hurla, mother of soccer player Parker, wanted the team to get a chance to play, and she believes the players would do whatever it takes to stay safe so they could continue their season.
“I was just really hopeful that they could have some opportunity to play,” she said. “I think the players are willing to do anything to be safe and I think they knew that was their chance.”
Hurla said she was also worried about how her son’s academic performance would be affected if the season was canceled.
“It’s something that he loves and that it is a motivating factor for school,” she said. “If they weren’t able to play, how could that affect his motivation academically?”
Bart Willems, father of soccer player Hayden, said he is relieved his son can play during his senior season. The Eudora soccer team has 20 seniors this season, most of whom have played together from a young age.
“He was very excited and before that he was pretty bummed out with the possibility that he might miss out on all of this during his senior year,” he said. “It’s a relief every game they play.”
Herron also praised athletic director Cara Kimberlin for facilitating a return to sports and who advocated for sports and activities to begin as usual after teams spent the summer safely working on conditioning.
“I’m thankful because I think Cara really did her homework and battled to make it the best that she could do so they could play,” she said.
Jared Karten, father of freshman volleyball player Madison, said he was worried about his daughter not being able to play this year, especially after sports were cut short last spring.
“She was very excited. She’s actually doing cheerleading and volleyball, and she was very excited to be able to do both of those,” he said.
Karten said while sports have returned, there are other activities students haven’t been able to enjoy this year. One of his other children is involved in theater, and the school isn’t doing activities with that.
“Sports are great, but there's other things that kids enjoy that they aren’t getting,” he said.
Derrick Long, father of Eudora freshman volleyball player Parker, believed there would be sports, but he wasn’t sure what they would look like. He said while Parker was excited to play, she still worried they would eventually shut down.
“She was happy, but she was wondering if it was going to last, if there was going to be a stoppage, or if school and sports altogether would be closed down,” he said.
Long said he is enjoying the fact that people are getting out and are able to enjoy the activities.
“It’s nice to have everyone back out and as long as everyone wears masks, we can all get out and do things,” he said. “It’s nice that it’s finally happened.”
Reach reporter Chris Fortune at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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